What’s Next For Jai Opetaia?

Jai Opetaia defeated David Nyika to extend his record to 27-0, leaving question marks over his next steps.
Opetaia was fighting in his home country of Australia for the first time since 2022 when he defeated Mairis Briedis in a unanimous decision. He dealt with the pressure well to perform comprehensively to retain his IBF Cruiserweight Title and Ring Magazine Belt. He could now target a unification against Zurdo Ramirez.
The latter is the WBA and WBO Cruiserweight Champion. His only defeat has come against Dmitry Bivol at 175, who will rematch Artur Beterbiev in his only loss. Ramirez unified by beating Chris Billam-Smith in his last to pick up the WBO belt. A win over Ramirez would be the biggest of his career and solidify his position as the leading cruiserweight. He called Ramirez after his win.
Opetaia Vs. Ramirez
“Man, all that style went out the window. That was a dogfight, and I respect that. He kept coming forward, he kept punching. Thank you, David. We gave this crowd a good fight. Ramirezzzzzz, I’m coming for the belts! I’m coming for my belts. That’s a callout of WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez. We knew Opetaia was likely to target a unification fight next,” Opetaia said
Another option is to face Badou Jack next. Jack is the WBC Cruiserweight Champion. He won the title after stopping Ilunga Makabu in the last round in 2023. He is 41 years old and at the tail end of his career. Opetaia would be a massive favorite in that fight. However, Jack’s next move is unclear as he wants to maximize his options before he retires. Eddie Hearn has said he wants Opetaia to unify against Ramirez before chasing the WBC belt.
Options
That is with a view to then facing Oleksandr Uysk in an undisputed fight. Usyk has already been undisputed at cruiserweight. There are suggestions he could move back down to pursue that again after having been undisputed at heavyweight. He has just beaten Fury for the second time, meaning he is the best heavyweight of this generation. While Usyk could retire since he is 38, he may be tempted for one more big fight. Regardless of what happens, Jai must make the fight move. But the Ramirez fight was what Hearn was hoping for, as that is the focus going forward.
“I hear WBA mandatorys. Hopefully, there’s a way around that I think it’s the best fight in the division/ A lot of people are talking about Opetaia against Usyk. That’s a big build, and I think style-wise, it’s a tremendous fight. The only way we can get some momentum for that fight is if Jai can become undisputed at cruiserweight because that’s what Usyk did. Usyk was undisputed at cruiserweight and then moved to heavyweight and became undisputed. So, if Jai can win tomorrow, and then beat Zurdo Ramirez and then capture the WBC title. Then, we can start calling out Oleksandr Usyk,” Hearn said
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